This year, Sayville Middle School teacher Susan Rafferty set a new goal for her students enrolled in the Reading Plus program. She encouraged the students in the classes to compete to see which class could achieve the highest combined Guided Reading Class Average. It was indeed a fierce competition, but the rewards of a Pizza Party and Prizes were enough inducement to keep the competitors in the running.

“The computerized program works,” explained Reading Plus Consultant Lisa Leib, “through subliminal activities (3-5 functions per second) that retrain the students’ attention, concentration, visual functioning, and perceptual skills and inherently help the students improve their overall reading speed and comprehension.”

 In Mrs. Rafferty classes, the program consistently achieved undeniable success. Her students’ grades soared when they carefully read individualized on-level text, self monitored their comprehension, and reread for clarification. The students also encouraged each other to read slowly and carefully to increase their comprehension as well as strengthen their reading skills.

When the competition ended, two classes (one from Eighth and one from Seventh) were declared winners (see below). While congratulations are in order for the top average, all the Reading Plus students learned to improve their silent-reading fluency. It was a win-win for all, which is exactly how Mrs. Rafferty feels: “All the students are winners in my eyes because, over time, they raise their reading levels, gained a true desire to read, and enhanced their confidence as independent readers.”